“Spitball in the Eye” (1)
1. IMPENDING [adjective]
Definition: about to take place
Synonyms: imminent, approaching, looming
Antonyms: indefinite, far-off
 Sentence: The impending asteroid strike sent the
people of Earth scrambling for one last “hurrah”.
 Sentence: Buford was in impending danger as he
faced the grizzly bear and her cub.
2. IMMINENT
[adjective]
Definition: about to take place
Synonyms: impending, approaching, looming
Antonyms: distant
 Sentence: Anticipating fantastic wealth from the
imminent success of Rock the SAT, its authors blew
their life savings on plastic surgery and mad bling.
 Sentence: Because Buford was in imminent danger
from the grizzly bear, he ran like a mad man down
the mountain.
3. CACOPHONOUS
[adjective]
Definition: harsh and grating to the ears
Synonyms: noisy, dissonant
Antonyms: euphonious, harmonious
 Sentence: The street was a cacophonous jumble of
horns, sirens, and car alarms, making it difficult for
Buford to engage in meaningful conversation with
his rubber ducky.
 Sentence: The cacophonous classroom made it
impossible for the teacher to carry on with any kind
of learning.
4. FRENETIC
[adjective]
Definition: hectic and disorganized
Synonyms: frenzied, frantic
Antonyms: tranquil, serene
 Sentence: One megaphone and a truckload of
cobras are all you need to turn a peaceful sing-along
into a frenetic, terrified mob clawing over each
other to save their pitiful little lives.
 Sentence: Penelope had a frenetic reaction when
she found the huge spider in her bed.
5. GREGARIOUS
[adjective]
Definition: social and outgoing
Synonyms: extroverted, social, friendly
Antonyms: solitary, unfriendly, shy
 Sentence: Gregarious and sociable to a fault, Jeffery
blindly led the conga line deep into enemy territory.
 Sentence: Although most people like a good party
every now and then, gregarious people are real
social butterflies.
6. FACETIOUS
[adjective]
Definition: joking, not meant to be taken seriously
Synonyms: jocose, amusing, flippant, foolish
Antonyms: serious, grave, earnest
 Sentence: The mayor alienated the League of
Women Voters by opening his speech with a
facetious remark about how fabulous they’d all look
in spandex.
 Sentence: Don’t be facetious when you ask me if I
would like to train for a marathon.
7. CHAGRIN
[noun or verb]
Definition: distress caused by disappointment or
embarrassment
Synonyms: vexation, misfortune, humiliation
 Sentence: Much to his chagrin, Buford had another
“accident” in public and vowed never again to mix
Pop Rocks and prune juice.
 Sentence: To the chagrin of the teacher, all the
students in the class failed the vocab test.
8. ABASHED
[adjective or verb]
Definition: embarrassed
Synonyms: humiliated, disconcerted
Antonyms: unabashed bold
 Sentence: I’m not easily abashed by public displays
of affection, but your dog needs to stop licking my
face.
 Sentence: Penelope was completely abashed by the
attention given her when she fell in front of the
school assembly.
9. DEMURE
[ADJECTIVE]
Definition: reserved and tactful
Synonyms: modest, bashful, discreet
Antonyms: brazen, bold, immodest
 Sentence: Suzy Snowflake’s shy, demure
personality didn’t really fit her destiny as the Queen
of the Evil Intergalactic Empire.
 Sentence: Demure people always drink tea, prefer
cats to dogs, and find the word sexy to be too risqué
to use in casual conversation. Well, most people
aren’t quite this demure anymore, but you get the
picture.
10. INSIPID
[adjective]
Definition: bland, dull
Synonyms: tasteless, colorless, weak
Antonyms: exciting, flavorful, tasty
 Sentence: Grandma boiled the chicken for so long
it became an insipid, fleshy paste that had all the
flavor of a cardboard box.
 Sentence: I haven’t had a more insipid
conversation since I stood in the ticket line at the
movies behind a guy who could trace his ancestry
back six hundred years—and did so out loud.
11. COGITATE
[verb]
Definition: to think deeply
Synonyms: ponder, contemplate
 Sentence: While you float there and cogitate
about what causes a shark feeding frenzy, I’ll take
this opportunity to swim for my bloody life.
 Sentence: Buford had to cogitate a long time
about his true feelings for Penelope Pringle and
Suzy Snowflake.